An Indiana guy is accused of fatally shaking his girlfriend’s toddler, authorities said.
On Friday, August 2, Dearborn/Ohio County prosecutor Lynn Deddens stated in a statement that Jesse A. Sartin has been charged with murder and aggravated violence resulting in death in connection with the death of his girlfriend’s 21-month-old daughter. Authorities have not officially announced the child’s name.
On July 24, police officers were dispatched to St. Elizabeth Dearborn Hospital in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, after receiving a complaint of a young girl with a “suspicious” head injury, according to Deddens. The injury was initially reported as an accident, but investigators believe Sartin shook the girl for around 20 seconds while her mother was at work.
According to Fox 19, Sartin, 25, stated in a letter to his girlfriend following the alleged event that he had been bathing the girl and tried to pull her out, but she “didn’t want to get out” and began “screaming and swinging her arms.”
“I tried to pull her out, but she kept pulling away, and I was getting upset,” Sartin allegedly wrote in a letter read in court by a detective on Monday, August 5, according to the site. “Baby, I’m really upset. I shook her, attempting to calm her down.”
According to court documents published by WLWT, Sartin initially claimed that the girl’s head injuries resulted from a dog knocking her off an ottoman. According to the records, Sartin transported the girl to the hospital after seeing she was unresponsive.
Sartin allegedly testified to investigators that he grabbed the child and “shook her for about 20 seconds,” according to WLWT, citing court documents.
(PEOPLE were unable to independently confirm the contents of the letter or court papers.)
According to Deddens, the claimed incident resulted in the girl requiring emergency surgery to remove brain swelling and pressure inside her skull. She was pronounced deceased on Thursday, August 1.
The Hamilton County Coroner’s Office determined the girl’s death a homicide, and her injuries were “all consistent with shaken baby syndrome,” according to an affidavit obtained by Fox 19.
Sartin’s first court appearance occurred on Monday, August 5, according to online records. It’s unknown whether he’s entered a plea or hired an attorney to speak on his behalf.